Modern Theatre in Istanbul Urban Society in the Last Period of the Ottoman Empire: A Device for Connecting the Empire with the Masses.

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K01026
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 03030:History of Asia and Africa-related
• Research Institution: Meiji University
• Principal Investigator: EGAWA Hikari 明治大学, 文学部, 専任教授 (70319490)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: オスマン演劇 / 祝祭 / 暦 / 大衆文化 / イスタンブル / オスマン帝国 / ラマダン（断食月） / カント（歌）

Outline of Final Research Achievements

From the late 19th to early 20th century, modern theatre in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire and a cosmopolitan city, flourished mainly with Armenian theatre artists who acquired the right to perform from the government in the late 19th century. Early theatrical performances included a single act or main and secondary acts, but by the beginning of the 20th century, theatrical performances were presented in the form of vaudeville-style performances consisting of multiple acts such as cantos (singing), dances, shadow plays, and cinematographs, in addition to dramas. Consumerism, linked to globalisation, was sweeping the country, and advertisements for imported goods on theatrical posters lured the masses into consumption. After the Balkan Wars, theatrical performances also became a state device to appeal to the populace for national unity, raise funds for orphans and wounded soldiers, show newsreels, and show off victorious festivities.

Free Research Field

オスマン帝国史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本でオスマン近代演劇に関する現地語史料を用いた研究は皆無であった。この研究分野を開拓した永田雄三と江川ひかりとの共著『世紀末イスタンブルの演劇空間―都市社会史の視点から』（白帝社, 2015)を基礎に、トルコ語読者向けに加筆・修正後2021年にトルコ語で研究書を出版したことは、演劇学・都市社会史研究に極めて重要な学術的意義をもたらした。トルコ人による本書の書評では、日本人研究者が、オスマン演劇ポスターを解読し、都市社会史という視点から日本演劇と比較・対照しつつ考察した点が高く評価された。基礎史料として用いた演劇ポスター170点の基本情報をデータベース化し、研究成果として発信している。